TNA SPOILER FOR POP DEBUTBy Mike Johnson on 2016-01-04 18:28:01 Former TNA champion James Storm will be returning to Impact Wrestling at this week's TV Tapings in Bethlehem, PA. Storm could appear as soon as tomorrow's live Impact Wrestling broadcast on Pop, PWInsider.com has confirmed.Storm had been with TNA since it launched in June 2002 and had been a major player in the company for most of his run, starting as one half of the company's signature tag team America's Most Wanted before the team broke up and he began a major singles run. Later, Storm and Bobby Roode formed "Beer Money", an act that the company could easily reform if they decided to go in that direction.

Storm's TNA contract expired in June 2015, ending his long run with the company, although TNA had filmed so much material with him for the World Title Series that to the average TV viewer, it seemed he never left. His most recent role saw him as the leader of "The Revolution", a rag-tag group of broken misfits that he had re-shaped in his vision, including Manik, Abyss and Mahabali Shera, building to Shera turning babyface.

Storm made several appearances on WWE NXT (and had been negotiating a new deal with TNA up to the point he made his first NXT appearance) in October 2015. He last appeared for NXT in November 2015 at a TV Taping. His return to TNA indicates he won't be working for NXT going forward.

Storm flew to Pennsylvania today for tomorrow's tapings at the Sands Casino Arena in Bethlehem, PA. He is scheduled to be at all of the tapings this week. TNA will be taping several episodes of Impact Wrestling and One Night Only PPVs before broadcasting a live One Night Only PPV this Thursday evening.

pwinsider

Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.

TNA STAR GONE FROM COMPANYBy Mike Johnson on 2016-01-12 17:13:19 TJ Perkins, who had been working for TNA under a mask as Manik, noted on social media that the company had given him notice that his contract was not being renewed.Perkins had appeared from time to time for the promotion before signing on full-time in 2013 to portray the masked Suicide character, a gimmick that was first created as part of a promotion for the first and only TNA videogame, which featured the character. The character's name was changed to Manik with TNA shooting vignettes showcasing Perkins as the performer behind the mask. The Manik character's last real run featured him as part of James Storm's Revolution before competing in the TNA World Title Series.

The Manik character has already been moved to TNA's Alumni section of their website. On Twitter, Perkins noted, "There was never an explanation given, just a notice."

Perkins had been working as himself for EVOLVE in recent months as well and noted on Twitter he would be doing a UK tour for Lucha VaVoom.

Raquel is former WWE Tough Enough competitor Gabi Castrovinci, originally from Brazil, with a background in jiu-jitsu who was a professional athlete for the World Beauty Fitness & Fashion.

During Tough Enough, she struggled with her understanding of pro wrestling promos, which resulted in her being voted off the show in its fourth week. At the time, she said she was happy she was leaving but later explained it was because she was tired of the drama that went on with living in the house. She noted at the time that she was looking to get additional experience so she could try out again for WWE. When the season ended, she was not hired by WWE.

Now, she's found her way to TNA, which also recently debuted another Tough Enough competitor, Chelsea Green, during a One Night Only PPV taping.

TNA OFFERS KURT ANGLE NEW DEAL AND MORE TNA NEWSBy Mike Johnson on 2016-01-22 11:17:09 TNA has offered Kurt Angle a new deal that wouldn't require him to wrestle but would see him associated with the company as sort of the ambassador and face of the promotion while also working with younger talents to help them improve. The idea would be for Angle to be sort of the living legend who's around. Angle has not yet agreed to the deal. He's talked of wanting to take time off of wrestling when he finishes up later this month with the company.TNA is also in the midst of locking in talents to new, exclusive deals that would see them get more money and also become exclusives to the promotion once again, putting TNA into a position where they would now field out the talents via third-party bookings with the company taking a piece of each booking. For those wondering how TNA can now be in a position to do this, one, Kurt Angle's big money contract with the company is coming to an end, freeing up capital, plus existing TV deals in India and Great Britain have renewed with the advent of 2016, bringing new, higher payments into the company. These are allowing a little more freedom with spending.

Kurt Angle, in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week, said he was 95% not going to undertake an MMA fight but was getting his feet wet with his new relationship with Bellator. He didn't completely rule out the possibility and noted that initially, Bellator approached him about fighting. Angle stated that if it ever happened, he would face someone like a Ken Shamrock or Royce Gracie, who could still "kick ass" but were "past their prime."

This past week's Impact Wrestling garnered an audience of 122,000 for the replay, bringing the total viewership up to 453,000. That would be, based on our records, the highest viewership for the company since July 2015. With DVR technology, that number would likely rise. They still have ways to go, but there certainly feels to be more of an uptick for the company in comparison to their time on Destination America. Over the last several weeks, TNA has returned to the top 150 cable shows airing on Tuesday nights as well. They never, ever hit that list while they were on Destination America that I've seen. TNA is very much happy with their new home.

TNA UK TOUR KICKING OFF TOMORROW, COMPLETE ROSTER & DETAILSBy Mike Johnson on 2016-01-28 09:32:01 TNA will run their annual UK tour this weekend. All three dates will double as tapings for future episodes of Impact Wrestling, including the 2016 Lockdown event. PWInsider.com is seeking reports from all three dates of the tour.The tour will hit the following cities:

Friday 1/29 in Manchester at The Manchester Arena.

Saturday 1/30 in London at The SSE Arena Wembley.

Sunday 1/31 in Birmingham at the Birmingham Barclaycard Arena.

The big story of the tour is that Kurt Angle will have his final dates with the promotion over the course of the weekend. On 1/29, he faces Drew Galloway. On 1/30, Angle will wrestle Bobby Roode. On 1/31, the final Kurt Angle TNA bout will feature him facing Bobby Lashley.

The tour will also feature new TNA champion Matt Hardy in his new role as the top villain of the company. We will probably get a big idea of what EC3's role will be going forward now that he's turned babyface. While not announced for the tour, it makes sense Dixie Carter may play into the EC3 storyline and will appear in some (hopefully limited) fashion.

It should also be interested to see how Will Ospreay, who's one of the best up and coming performers in the world right now, is used over the course of the tour. TNA could easily make a massive new star with him if they give him time to showcase his skills and have competitive bouts with Trevor Lee, Matt Hardy etc. To me, Ospreay's appearances are one of the most intriguing things to watch unfold on the tour as he's going to be one of those breakout performers in 2016. Hopefully TNA realizes that and gets ahead of the curve.

Grado, who was just "fired" as part of the Feast or Fired match aftermath and did a great job in his role in those vignettes, has been advertised for some time for this tour. Whether he appears or not remains to be seen.

By Mike Johnson on 2016-01-29 18:51:29 Former TNA Knockouts champion Awesome Kong was sent home from the current UK tour on the first day following a locker room incident with Reby Sky, PWInsider.com has learned.According to multiple sources, Kong took issue with Sky attempting to dress in the women's locker room and threw Sky's bag out of the room. Sky had not dressed in the women's locker room at the Bethlehem, PA tapings as we are are told she dressed separately at those tapings. The UK tour was the first time Sky dressed in the women's locker room.

The back story here appears to come from, of all things, social media and shoot interviews. In 2013, Kong made reference to Sky on a www.KayfabeCommentaries.com "Youshoot" DVD where she knocked Sky during a segment called "The Ho Bag." Kong's statements were apparently a receipt for Sky, earlier that year, going on Twitter in reference to Sid Vicious no showing an independent date, which Sky spoke out about. Sky would shoot then back online in a public Q&A forum when asked about Kong knocking her, writing, "Not aware of this, if it is true. Doesn’t make much sense, as I don’t know her on a really personal level & we have been nothing but nice to each other in passing at shows. We’ve actually texted back & forth a few times, so if she now has a problem with me, I can only attribute it to one thing/person. Fake as f**k to be nice to my face & talk s**t to a camera if its true, but no shocker there. That’s 99% of the women in this business anyway. Next."

So, while the entire back and forth happened years ago and was likely forgotten by everyone except the principals, it appears to have been the root cause of what sent Kong off and might explain what she was demanding an apology for.

We are told Sky left the room (likely to speak to someone in TNA management) and when she returned to retrieve her things, Kong went after her for "not apologizing."

There are two versions making the rounds as to what happened next. One is that Kong tried to go after Sky but was stopped. The second version, which we've heard from FAR more people, is that Kong throttled Sky around the neck and assaulted her, before security and TNA Producer Pat Kenney restrained Kong.

What makes the entire situation worse is that Reby and Matt Hardy's son was right in the vicinity of the incident we are told.

The incident led to Kong being sent home by TNA. What this means for her long-term status with the company is probably undecided as of this writing.

Kong departed TNA in 2010 after assaulting shock DJ Bubba the Love Sponge (at the time, working as a backstage interviewer for the company through his connection to Hulk Hogan) after Bubba made derogatory remarks about Haiti following a major Earthquake there. She went to WWE for a short run as Kharma and returned to TNA in early 2015.

PWInsider has reached out to TNA for comment.

Thanks to Erick Sturrock for his help with researching background information.

AWESOME KONG-TNA UPDATEBy Mike Johnson on 2016-02-05 15:46:00TNA's John Gaburick announced the following via his Twitter this afternoon:

"TNA Impact Wrestling has released Awesome Kong. We wish her well in her future endeavors."

As PWInsider.com broke last week, TNA sent Kong home last week on the first day of the UK tour after Kong physically assaulted Reby Hardy when she took issue with Hardy dressing in the women's locker room. The belief is the issue was sparked by a personal situation where the women went back and forth at each other several years back on social media after Kong knocked Hardy on a www.KayFabeCommentaries.com "Youshoot" DVD.

The TNA website also featured a statement from Gaburick, acknowledging the incident. "“We conducted an investigation and determined releasing Awesome Kong is the appropriate action in this case,” said Gaburick in the statement on ImpactWrestling.com. “Kong has been a great contributor to TNA and helped solidify the Knockouts as the best female division in professional wrestling. We thank her and wish her well.”

Kong had left TNA in 2010 after an incident where she physically assaulted radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge backstage in Orlando, Florida after Bubba had made tasteless remarks in the wake of an earthquake in Haiti. She had a short run in WWE but returned to TNA at the onset of 2015. She had most recently been positioned as the leader of the Dollhouse.

Kong acknowledged her departure on her own Twitter, writing, "My time this round in TNA was fun. Time for me to move on to other things. #Released #HeadHeldHigh"

DAVEY RICHARDS INJURY UPDATE, NEW CABLE SYSTEM CLEARS POP, BENNETT AND MORE TNA NEWSBy Mike Johnson on 2016-02-26 16:03:00For those of you who are AT&T Uverse subscribers, Pop is being added to your system this Tuesday, which means you will be able to watch Impact Wrestling weekly from that point.

Davey Richards acknowledged that he underwent surgery to repair what I believe was a torn ACL and is already walking on his knee again. He noted on Twitter that he was appreciative of kinds words being sent his way but wanted fans to give their attention instead to sick and injured children, returning soldiers, etc. When a fan noted he was expected to be out eight months, he blew that off and said he wasn't going by guidelines when it came to making a return.

Michael Bennett was interviewed by The Huffington Post about being an advocate for the LBGT community at this link.

TNA continues to release their original weekly PPV series via Youtube under "The Asylum Years" moniker. If you've never seen the original X-Division bouts with AJ Styles, Low Ki, Jerry Lynn, etc. they are worth checking out. The latest one can be found below

EXCLUSIVE: TWO FORMER TNA WORLD CHAMPIONS LEAVING COMPANYBy Mike Johnson on 2016-03-19 20:35:00Former TNA champions Bobby Roode and Eric Young will be finishing their TNA commitments at tonight's Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando, Florida, PWInsider.com has confirmed with multiple sources.

The story making the rounds is that Roode and Young each requested releases from their TNA deals and their working this past week's Impact Wrestling tapings were part of those agreements.

Roode, 39, is currently one half of the TNA Tag Team champions Beer Money, an act that was just resurrected at the onset of the year with the return of James Storm to the company. Roode has been a good soldier for the company, debuting in 2004 as part of the Team Canada group and slowly made his way up the ladder, eventually winning the TNA championship. We are told that Roode is a free agent as of tomorrow.

The current King of the Mountain champion, Young, 36, has been with TNA since 2004 as well. Something of a chameleon for the promotion, Young has filled every role imaginable for the promotion - from paranoid underdog babyface to foreign menace villain to masked super hero to most recently out of his mind evil villain over the course of the 12 years he was with the company. Young was also the host and star of several Animal Planet reality series. Young and the company had been negotiating a new deal but Young made the decision to instead ask for a release to the company. Young is also a free agent as of tomorrow.

While Roode has not publicly commented, Young wrote the following on Twitter earlier today, "Heading to the building and thinking back on the last 12 years....... What a wild ride!!!!"

PWInsider has reached out to TNA and has been told a statement is forthcoming.

ERIC YOUNG AND BOBBY ROODE: WHAT HAPPENED?By Mike Johnson on 2016-03-21 11:11:00The sudden departures of Eric Young and Bobby Roode from TNA Saturday leave a number of questions about each of the talents, where they are heading, and what this means for the future of TNA.

It's important to note that each situation involving Young and Roode are both unique and exclusive to each of those performers. One leaving had nothing to do with the other and the timing just turned out that the two, who signed the same day with TNA in 2004, were exiting the company on the same day.

As reported over the weekend in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, while all sides are going to publicly play up that the two former TNA champions leaving are completely amicable departures, and at the end, things between all sides might even be completely amicable, obviously the situations leading into Roode and Young's exits were not. If things were 100% amicable, they'd still be happily working for TNA.

There are reports floating online, attributed to PWInsider.com, that the pair each asked for pay raises and were turned down, leading to them quitting. PWInsider never reported that in any way, shape or form and that version of the story is incorrect. Here is, based on speaking to multiple sources over the last 48 hours, what we did report in the Elite section of the site:

BOBBY ROODE

After speaking with multiple sources, in the case of Roode, it appears his situation was somewhat similar to what happened to AJ Styles several years ago. Roode had been signed to an existing TNA deal that allowed him to be one of, if not, THE highest paid talent in the company. As Roode's most recent deal came to an end last month and with Roode as one half of the Tag Team champions, TNA wasn't in a position where they could continue to pay Roode at the level he was previously receiving, nor was Roode being used at that level where TNA could derive the sort of revenue necessary to viably pay him. So, Roode had effectively worked himself into a position where he was too expensive for TNA, in it's current state, to retain.

We have also heard that in recent months, a bigger issue was that Roode had been extremely unhappy with TNA pay being behind and was very vocal about it to TNA management, which led to a lot of frustration and issues between the two sides. We have heard from multiple sources that TNA did eventually catch Roode up in pay.

We are also told that Roode recently agreed to a new deal but then had a change of heart and requested his release after what one source called "more frustrations." What exactly was the tipping point is unknown and it's doubtful either side will go on record with it. It's possible it was a pay issue but again, we've heard from multiple sources that TNA completely caught up whatever they owed Roode.

TNA negotiated an exit with Roode getting his complete release in exchange for him working this past week's set of TV tapings. He was completely free and clear as of midnight Sunday 3/20. He is currently taking independent dates.

ERIC YOUNG

In the case of Eric Young, we are told that Young had also signed a new deal recently but after being with the company for 12 years, he was said to have been upset with what he had been offered for that deal. Beyond that, one source believed that Young was frustrated to see TNA talents who had a much shorter tenure (or had left and returned) being offered deals at the same level or better. It should be noted that while others were likely being locked in 100% for TNA, Young is believed to have had the ability to do outside projects, such as his past reality series, with TNA not being involved with that aspect of his career.

We are told that Young voiced his unhappiness and TNA management asked him to decide if he wanted to remain or wanted to see if he wanted to be a free agent. At 36, Young decided that he'd rather not be locked into a deal and wanted the ability to explore options elsewhere, so he and the company negotiated his release, part of which was Young working the last week of TV tapings. Young is also completely free and clear to sign anywhere he wants and is currently taking independent dates.

Young leaving specifically shocked a lot of people in the company since he had been one of the most loyal talents in the history of TNA.

THE FUTURE

Young and Roode will be appearing on Impact Wrestling TV for the next six weeks through 4/19. Based on what we have heard about the tapings, neither were explicitly buried or "written out" on the tapings, so the potential for either to come back and work additional tapings (TNA is next set currently set to tape in late April) as non-contracted talents is certainly there, although if Roode and/or Young are looking to move to another major promotion, they may wish to distance themselves from the company publicly.

The natural next question is whether either Young or Roode are WWE or WWE NXT-bound. As of today, both are 100% free and clear to sign anywhere they want. AJ Styles is on the main roster of WWE. WWE NXT has signed Samoa Joe and Austin Aries and flirted with the idea of signing James Storm. It's not outside the realm of possibility that WWE will take a look at one or both and that either would be a perfect fit for NXT specifically. Young, who excelled at playing different characters, seems tailor-made for WWE if they chose to cast him in a role similar to the one Santino Marella or R-Truth have held in recent years. Roode is a workhorse in the ring during a time period where old style in-ring workhorses are scarcer and scarcer.

While ROH and New Japan are also obvious possibilities, if you are a professional wrestler in your mid-late 30s, your eyes should be on getting a WWE deal before your window of opportunity closes and I'd be shocked if Young and Roode weren't looking at that end result of their decision.

For those asking if this is a sign of the future for TNA being bleak, it's not a sign that things are any worse than they were a week ago or a month ago. They aren't, but they haven't moved forward, either. If anything, things remain constant. TNA is completely separated from Panda Energy now and are a completely independent entity. Their international TV deals, specifically UK and India, are the top revenue sources for the company right now and are what keep the company afloat. The company is still signing talents to deals (and is expected to sign a number of signings in the days and weeks to come, we hear). They are still seeking potential investors and partners to help the company build to the future and meetings in that regard have continued to happen, we are told.

While they are nowhere near the level of where they were when they were on Spike, TNA is continuing to produce content and trying to move forward. As long as they are doing that, there's always chance they can build around newer talents to try and and forge a new foundation to grow from, but the company has a lot of hard work ahead of them and needs a lot of good luck going forward, something they have not had a lot of in recent years.

For those who asked how Dixie Carter and the departing talents dealt with each other on their final day, Carter was not present at Saturday's TV taping. So, any farewells would have been left up to John Gaburick, Bob Ryder, etc.

The one silver lining in this, if anything, is that Roode and Young's departures open up roster slots for someone new and fresh to replace characters that had been heavily featured for over a decade. It's on TNA to take advantage of that going forward, just as it's on Young and Roode to make the most of this new chapter of their career.

As it turns out, Young vs. Roode is set to main event the House of Hardcore event on 5/7 in Niagara Falls. For tickets to that event, visit www.HouseofHardcore.net. Once again, they are intertwined.

TNA ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW SIGNINGSBy Mike Johnson on 2016-03-24 16:48:00TNA announced today that they have signed five new talents with a press release. As we reported on PWInsider earlier this week, they have signed Laura "Cherry Bomb" Dennis as well as former WWE NXT stars Thomas LaRuffa (formerly Sylvester LeFort) and Mikael Vierge (formerly Marcus Louis).

TNA also announed the signing of Jesse Guilette, professionally known as Pepper Parks, who was originally trained by Les Thatcher and has worked for CZW and GFW of late.

The most surprising name on the list is Marshe Rockett, who will obviously be joining the X-Division. Rockett is from the Illinois area and is best known for being part of Da Soul Touchaz, who have made appearances in CHIKARA previously.

TNA's official release reads:

IMPACT WRESTLING Welcomes Five New Athletes to Roster

IMPACT WRESTLING is proud to announce the signing of five fresh and new members to our active roster effective immediately. Jesse Guilmette, Laura Dennis, Marshe Rockett, Thomas LaRuffa and Mikael Vierge all signed their contracts with IMPACT WRESTLING earlier this month.

Jesse Guilmette and Laura Dennis are best known on the independent wrestling scene as Pepper Parks and Cherry Bomb. This real-life married duo caught the eye of IMPACT WRESTLING officials, and on a very emotional day for both Jesse and Laura, they signed their contracts together and look forward to entertaining the IMPACT WRESTLING fans very soon.

Marshe Rockett was born in Normal, Illinois and has earned the nickname “Mr. M80” for his explosive offensive ability. Marshe impressed IMPACT WRESTLING officials at a recent tryout and was signed immediately. Marshe is someone who can make a quick impression on the IMPACT WRESTLING roster.

Thomas LaRuffa and Mikael Vierge, both born in France, have been competing all over the world for the past several years. Tom and Mikael want to be considered the benchmark for tag teams in IMPACT WRESTLING and their desire to be the best has set them apart from their peers. Following the career path of both Eli Drake and Bram, Tom and Mikael have extensive training inside the wrestling ring and look to bring their knowledge to IMPACT WRESTLING.

We welcome all five of these amazing athletes as the newest members of the TNA IMPACT WRESTLING roster and look forward to seeing them in action on IMPACT WRESTLING in the near future.

ANOTHER TNA STAR ABOUT TO EXIT?By Mike Johnson on 2016-03-28 11:59:00Multiple sources have confirmed to PWInsider.com that former TNA Knockout champion Velvet Sky's TNA deal is set to expire in about 3-4 weeks. Sky's status going forward will be an interesting one to follow as she has been one of the best merchandise sellers in the company over the last several years, at times, second to only Jeff Hardy.

Sky, 34, debuted for TNA in 2007 and has been a major cornerstone of the promotion's Knockouts division for years as part of The Beautiful People with Angelina Love (who herself disclosed over the weekend that she was gone from the company). Sky left the promotion in January of 2015 after being "fired" via The Feast or Fired route and returned in May 2015 as a babyface.

Sky's most recent storyline was a feud with the Dollhouse that climaxed at the London Lockdown event.

TWO NEW TNA SIGNINGS, NEW CONTRACT RENEWALBy Mike Johnson on 2016-04-29 17:51:00TNA announced today that they have signed Sienna (formerly Allysin Kay) and North Carolina talent Caleb Konley to contracts. Konley was formerly with EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA.

The company also announced Robbie E. has renewed his contract with the company

Cody Rhodes Is Going To Work For TNA And ROHPosted By: Dustin Frisch on Sep 05, 2016Source: The Wrestling Observer Radio

Cody Rhodes, who was a former WWE superstar, will be joining TNA and ROH according to the very latest Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer apparently spoke with Rhodes at PWG’s Battle Of Los Angeles over the weekend. Cody Rhodes deal is different than most other wrestlers in the business as usually superstars do not work both TNA and ROH at the very same time.

It should be noted that TNA wrestlers can work the indies but they cannot work with a company that has a TV deal. In the case here, Rhodes' is allowed to because he wouldn't be under contract to either company. Cody will be working with Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis in TNA, and Rhodes’ wife Brandi will be involved in the feud as well.

She has done ring announcing back in BOLA for her husband. Cody is expected to work with many different people within ROH, but his opponent he has chosen is Adam Cole. Sadly, Cody Rhodes does not have the rights to the "Cody Rhodes" name. He's been using it for indy shows but won't be allowed to use the "Rhodes" name on TV.

He may not even have a last name in TNA or ROH, but here's to hoping Cody can get the rights to the Rhodes name somehow before debuting on either show. It's worth a share of the tweets he has posted about BOLA down below as well for anyone curious.

Anthem Media has come to terms for Jeff Jarrett to return to TNA, PWInsider.com has confirmed. We are told that Jarrett will be at this week's TV tapings, as will his wife Karen Jarrett.

Jarrett, one of the original founders of TNA alongside his father Jerry Jarrett, resigned his position from the company in December 2013. At the time, Jarrett held the position of Executive Vice President of Development/Original Programming and his departure was seen as a huge shock at the time.

Jarrett would go on to form Global Force Wrestling while still a minority shareholder in TNA, which was seen as an embarrassment to TNA at the time. There was such an anger about that from Carter's end, that, at the time TNA brought back the six-sided ring, numerous sources told PWInsider.com that it was done because Carter felt Jarrett would do it within GFW, so it was TNA's way of cutting him off at the pass.

As it turned out, Jarrett was brought back in 2014 as part of a deal that saw him inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame on camera while behind the scenes, Dixie Carter acquired his shares in the company, giving her, at the time 100% ownership. It was a deal that was done so that Carter had complete control and could attempt to find new partners without Jarrett's potential interference, something that led TNA down the road to Aroluxe, Billy Corgan and finally Anthem Media.

Only, Anthem decided to turn to Jarrett.

The re-emergence of Jarrett was pointed to this morning as a sign that Carter was completely out in terms of decision-making as the pair had at times, split the loyalty within the company between their two sides and had a number of falling outs over the years, including a time period where Jarrett took time off from the company after it became public knowledge he was dating his now wife Karen (who had previously been married to Kurt Angle, at the time the top star in TNA). During that time away, Carter let go of Jarrett's entire support staff at the time, including Dutch Mantel, Savio Vega, Jim Cornette and Brian "Roaddogg" James.

"There is no way [Carter] would have allowed Jeff to return," said one source who spoke under condition of anonymity this morning. "This is proof that she is done."

The return of Jarrett makes him something of a Steve Jobs figure within TNA as like Jobs, Jarrett was forced out/walked away from something he created, only for that same entity to reach out seeking his assistance in righting it down the line. Anthem reached out to Jarrett last month and held a number of meetings with him as they did their due diligence prior to officially announcing yesterday that they had acquired Impact Wrestling.

We are also told that Dutch Mantel is already in Orlando and is expected at this week's tapings, which certainly lends credence to the idea that Jarrett will be helping behind the scenes in terms of creative as Mantel was always one of his top lieutenants in that regard in the past. After being let go by TNA, Mantel, considered a great mind for the business, had a run with WWE as Zeb Colter.

We are also told that this does not mean the end of Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling promotion, which has been working to establish a TV deal in conjunction with "American Ninja Warrior" production company A. Smith & Co. Productions in Los Angeles. Sources indicate that whatever Jarrett is doing with TNA, it will not impede any potential GFW business moving forward.

pwinsider

Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.

WWE announced this morning that Mark Andrews aka Mandrews in TNA has been added to the roster of talents who will be competing in the WWE UK Championship tournament on 1/14 and 1/15 in Blackpool, England.

Andrews had won the second edition of TNA reality series "British Bootcamp" to earn a contract with the company. TNA ran an angle where he turned heel on DJ Z in December, but obviously they will not be able to follow up on that now.

We are told Andrews' deal expired at the end of the year.

pwinsider

Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.

By Mike Johnson on 2017-01-05 00:14:00As Dave Scherer noted last night, Anthem Media officially announced that they have purchased the majority ownership of Impact Wrestling. It was obvious the announcement was made the day before the first TNA taping of 2017 for a reason. It is expected that Anthem's Ed Nordholm, who now is in complete control of the company, will address the talent roster tomorrow before the Impact taping in Orlando, Florida.

It is interesting to note they specifically mention Impact Wrestling, but NOT it's former parent company Impact Ventures, LLC, which was the subject of a number of lawsuits and was alleged to have been insolvent when Billy Corgan sued the company while President. It remains to be seen what becomes of that corporate entity, if anything.

It was noted in yesterday's press release that Dixie Carter still holds a minority share in the company. The announcement pretty much removes her from TNA decision-making and we are told that she will not be at this week's TV tapings, either on camera or behind the scenes. Internally, this is being seen as Dixie is "done" in terms of being the point person in company deals, creative decisions, etc. It appears her final appearance for the company will have been the Gail Kim TNA Hall of Fame induction in October 2016. The last official communication she had with the talent roster was a November 2016 conference call following the then-recent exits of Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana from TNA. I would not be the least bit surprised if it is later announced that she is resigning from the company and moving on to greener pastures.

For those who have asked about John "Big" Gaburick, we are told that he will be heading production at this week's TV tapings.

Aroluxe representatives are in Orlando, Florida working on the production end, so they are still involved in the process as well. Whether Aroluxe has ended up with a minority stake in the company (as was the plan, as revealed during Billy Corgan's lawsuit against TNA last year) has not been confirmed. That plan had included Aroluxe's Jason Brown becoming CEO of Impact Ventures for a term of three years, but obviously with today's acquisition announcement, that can not happen.

As is the norm with such things, when one company takes over another, there are bound to be changes. I don't believe many of them will be seen until after this round of tapings are completed.

As I noted in my PWInsider Elite audio update on Tuesday, there are not expected to be any major talents debuts or changes in direction at the tapings. There will be some returns to the roster, including Davey Richards and Angelina Love. This week is very much being seen as an undertaking the company has to get through as they have a lot of content to produce (as they are taping 12 episodes of Impact) and once that content is in the can, Anthem can begin to strategize going forward. It should be also be interesting to see if Anthem opts to move the company's HQ to Toronto, where Anthem is headquartered.

As previously noted in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, Jeff Jarrett has been spotted in Florida over the past few days but we are told that he was there for a family vacation. Obviously, with Impact taping in Orlando, there's always a possibility that Jarrett will pop up at TV over the course of the next week. There have been rumblings of Jarrett and Dutch Mantel potentially coming in of late (and obviously, Jarrett has met with Anthem a number of times since last month) but nothing concrete. If that turns out to be the case, what a full circle that would be for TNA.

Drew Galloway will be missing some of the tapings this week as he had already locked in European dates before TNA confirmed their taping dates with him.

We are also told that TNA has already secured 3/2-3/9 for additional taping dates at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Those replace the originally planned dates for Wrestlemania week.

A plan is in place to run house shows later this year as well, but the official trigger on that has not, to the best of my knowledge, been pulled.

TNA's Allie has launched an official Youtube channel at this link.

Oh yeah, not that TNA has promoted this at all, but they have a live One Night Only PPV on Friday as well!

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Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.

*Former WWE star Swoggle is slated to appear at this week's TV tapings to follow up on his appearance on Total Nonstop Deletion.

*Maria Kanellis and Michael Bennett are set for this week's TV tapings. Their TNA deals expired at the end of the year. There was WWE interest in Maria dating back to last summer's Brand Split, so it should be interesting to see what their long term plans are.

*There are rumblings that Brooke Tessmacher may be returning soon.

*As I discussed on my Elite audio hotline, Alexis Neveah is slated for this week's tapings. There has been talk that she would be in regularly going forward.

*Caleb Konley, who has been signed but not used, is slated for this week's TV tapings as well.

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Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.

TNA will continue their busy TV taping schedule today and tomorrow with tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando today at 1 PM and 7 PM. There will also be tapings tomorrow at 1 PM and 7 PM.

The main angle coming out of the One Night Only PPV, by the way, was that Davey Richards accidentally nailed EC3 with a chair while attempting to hit Bobby Lashley with one during the Eddie Edwards vs. EC3 main event. The PPV will replay all month on PPV providers and on the FiteTV app, where it is available for VOD orders. The next ONO PPV will air 2/10.

There were references to Gail Kim having an injury that is taking longer to heal than originally expected after a surgery on the ONO PPV last night. We are told she underwent a back surgery recently.

There are plans to film a Knockouts-themed PPV this weekend.

Aron Rex will soon debut a Liberace-esque gimmick with Rockstar Spud as his man servant. The character is similar to one Rex has pitched in the past to WWE that was never used.

Karen Jarrett was backstage at last night's One Night Only PPV, as were all the Jarrett family children. She was not backstage at the TV taping on Thursday.

Sgt. Chris Melendez was also visiting at yesterday's PPV.

Tyrus made his appearance on the Greg Gutfield Show last night on FOX News (which he regularly appears on) via satellite from backstage in Orlando.

Decay's new theme music is by Dale Oliver, who has composed a lot of TNA themes over the years. The loss of the Marilyn Manson song was absolutely felt during the ring entrances this week.

IMPACT ANNOUNCES AAA DEAL, WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THEIR CRASH DEAL AND MORE NEWSBy Mike Johnson on 2017-03-19 22:43:00Impact's Ed Nordholm officially announced via Twitter that the company will be working with AAA in Mexico, writing, "Building bridges. Our alliance with AAA will bring the best of both promotions together."

Impact is indeed still working with CRASH Lucha Libre in Tijuana and we are told there are plans in place regarding that working agreement in regard to announcements that will be made in the weeks to come. CRASH and AAA are at major odds right now, so we'll see what sort of position all that puts Impact Wrestling in.

For those who have asked, the fourth person in the "booking meeting" segments on Impact this past Thursday as Rafael Morfi, a former WWE live events official who has been working with Impact over the last year or so. If and when the company relaunches their live events, he'll be the point person involved.

Impact has already release "fan" footage of an angle set for next week's Impact Wrestling episode where NFL stars D'Angelo Williams and Gary Barnidge come to the aid of Moose for the Impact Grand Championship against Davey Richards:

The Veterans of War team will be Crimson and former NWA champ Jax Dane under new identities as Wilcox and Mayweather. They will debut on next week's Impact Wrestling.

LAX vs. Decay will headline next week's Impact Wrestling taping.

Chris Adonis is slated to be coming in to face Moose.

Christina Von Eerie has signed with Impact.

Braxton Sutter and Allie have signed new deals with the company as well.

Robbie E and Bram are missing this week's TV tapings as they are in Japan working for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

A few readers sent word that Impact was teasing a major return for tonight's taping last night on the mic in between segments.

The company returns to UK TV tomorrow on Spike UK. Impact Wrestling will be doing a live stream on Facebook to promote it

According to Konnan on his Podcast Boom, Impact Wrestling's Jeff Jarrett wants Impact Tag Team champions LAX's opponents at Slammiversary to be Aerostar and Drago, regulars with Lucha Underground. It remains to be seen whether that will be the case.

On the same podcast, Konnan stated that former ROH star and current New Japan talent ACH and Sammy Guevara are getting Impact tryouts soon. Konnan was the one who recommended Guevera.

BIG NAME IN NASHVILLE FOR GFW TALKSBy Mike Johnson on 2017-07-18 20:46:00As Dave Scherer noted earlier today on PWInsider.com, former WWE World champion Rey Mysterio Jr. was in Nashville last night and met up with several WWE talents who were in town for Raw.

Mysterio and Konnan were in Nashville as Mysterio met with Global Force Wrestling officials earlier in the day to negotiate a deal with the company, PWInsider.com has confirmed. We are told by several sources that Mysterio "has a contract offer in his hands."

Mysterio was last seen on The El Rey Network's Lucha Underground series, which is completing the airing of its third season shortly. A fourth season has not yet been announced. Mysterio signed a "first look" deal with the cable network in 2016 to develop projects for the star, but as of this writing, nothing has been green-lit.

Mysterio left WWE in 2015 following a long run there that including winning several WWE World championships, including a Wrestlemania 22 win over Randy Orton and Kurt Angle. Over the course of his career, Mysterio has been a major attraction for ECW, AAA and WCW as well.

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"I eat more in one week than most people do in a day"--- GA Holsome

"We didn't have no internet but man I never will forgetThe way the moon light shined upon her hair"-- Kid Rock

MORE AAA/LUCHA UNDERGROUND TALENTS ADDED TO GFW LIVE EVENTSBy Mike Johnson on 2017-07-24 12:48:00Global Force Wrestling announced today that in addition to John Hennigan, TaGya and Drago will be working the promotion's announced live events in the Northeast next month.

GFW is running 8/4 in Long Island, NY at the Sports Arena in St. James, 8/5 in Staten Island, NY and 8/6 in Bridgeport, CT.

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Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.